A face spline of this type is described in further detail in DE 31 16 720 C1. A corresponding mating spline of a drive shaft of the vehicle engages into the face spline. The mating spline is formed as a rule on a bell or a stub of a bell of a constant velocity joint.
During the assembly of the drive element into the wheel hub arrangement, the drive element and the wheel hub self center with respect to one another with regard to the rotational axis on account of the geometry of the radial serrations. A high accuracy of true running at the connection is therefore ensured during driving operation. The assembly of the joint part to the hub is on the one hand simple on account of the self centering, but on the other hand requires a very high axial prestressing force.
The flanks of all the teeth of the face spline are in engagement with both flanks of all the teeth of the mating spline. The splines are clamped axially by means of one or more screw elements. Torques are transmitted to the wheel hub by a force-transmitting and form-fitting connection which is produced from surface pressure.
The connection of the joint part to a wheel hub is of advantage, in particular, when high moments are to be transmitted from the drive to the wheel or, possibly, in a reverse flow of moments. The pairs of inner splines and outer splines which are usually used are often exhausted in terms of installation space and therefore with regard to the strength, so that the face spline is a reliable and installation space saving alternative to the former. The rigid configuration for transmitting high torques to the wheel can have a disadvantageous effect when, in the case of overloading, a fracture of the wheel hub, in the most unfavorable case, leads to the loss of the vehicle wheel.